Adventures in Dunedin on June 3rd and 4th

The day after I got back to Dunedin I went to the library and worked on my Basins project that was kinda past due slash was due whenever I got it done. I didn’t get too much done and it was even harder when I didn’t have a hard a fast due date anymore. Simon and Laura planned a pancake feed where they made a ton a pancakes and everyone brought stuff to put on the pancakes. We had some crazy weird stuff, including a savory onion topping. :) It was a fun time. After the pancakes a bunch of people were going to the Banff Mountain film festival showing in a theater in the octagon. I declined saying I ad to go to bed, but I was convinced when I heard about the epic movies of climbing, skiing, mountaineering, biking and the like. I was sold and so the night progressed. The movies were so epic!! I couldn’t believe some of the extreme adventure sports I saw. One clip was about Alex Honnold who free soloed Half Dome. That means no ropes. NO ROPES. Just shoes, sheer skill, confidence and a chalk bag. I was in awe. The Alex kid was 19 and lived out of a van, he was super goofy, weird, awkward and funny. After that clip all my friends said that was my man. I agreed. I need to find Alex Honnold. lol. It was a fun evening for sure, I was glad I went.

Then next day I woke up early to go on a Cadbury Chocolate Factory Tour with some Anna, Margurite, Laura, Nooreen and Kate. NBD. It was like Williwonka in real life...minus a few of the really creep elements. We got free chocolate. It was great. We also saw a ton (aka tonne...not just “a lot” a ton as in the actual unit of measure) of chocolate be dropped in a chocolate fall. It is one of those things you don’t really know you want to see, but after you see it you know you will never see something like it again. We had to wear hair nets.

I went grocery shopping, went to the library to finish my project, but I didn’t finish it. I decided I was going to go hike the Kepler Track tomorrow, went to ballet class, got Rob Roys with Simon and Laura, ate cooked corn for dinner and went to the geo building to work on my project...but ended up watching Zombie Land instead and I left around 3am.

PDX -> LAX -> AKL -> CHC -> DUN

That is the plan for getting back to school. I had tickets for all my flights and everything went smoothly. The only hiccup was that I left my US phone charger at home...so I went all around the LA airport looking for my type of charger. I found one in a Best Buy electronics vending machine...I didn’t want to spend the money, but I figured this was important enough. After carefully looking at the description and seeing that it would work, I purchased it. After taking it out of the box though, I noticed that it didn’t have the correct adapter for my phone. It had about 5 of them, but they were not the same ones pictured in the description in the vending machine. That was very frustrating. I noticed that there were two of the same adapters though. Perhaps this was simply a mistake and this package had two of the same. I checked to see if I could return it, which I could, when I got back to the states in a month. So (of all the things to do) I bought another one, with faith that it would have the correct adapter. It didn’t. I was so mad. I’m now stuck with two phone chargers that don’t work and I have to return them by mail....I didn’t tell anyone this, because I felt like an idiot, but now I’m posting it on the internet, so I guess I’m over it.

In LAX I felt like I was going home to NZ and it was entertaining to watch all the tourists with their Lonely Planet books, frivolous questions and eager faces. I saw a few people who were Kiwis and I felt like we had a connection and were in a different league than these tourists. That is false....but it did feel nice to be comfortable and knowledgeable in another country. I talked to a family that were dropping off their daughter (under 18) to fly to NZ and meet her sister. The mom was freaking out a bit and I reassured her that they would feed her daughter on the plane and that NZ isn’t that scary or different from here.

Once I was on the plane I again had a window seat with a empty seat in between (Thank you Simon). As I pulled my wool socks over my manicured toes for the flight it hit me that I was actually heading back to the other side of the world. This week had gone by in a flash and felt like a dream...wool socks reminded me of reality: a cold flat, school work, final exams, friends, adventures and New Zealand!! Not too shabby.

I actually don’t remember much of the day of flying, I’m sure I slept a lot, maybe watched a movie....anyhow, I ended up in Dunedin and friend Simon (not married brother Simon) picked me up. It had flooded while I was gone and all the paddocks around Dunedin were not shallow lakes. It was really good to see Simon and hear about what had happened here while I had been gone. I went to my flat and got ready to go to the Butler-IFSA good bye dinner. It was fun to see everyone from Butler and eat great food! I was so tired and jetlagged it wasn’t even funny.

This was some serious cultural whiplash, my brain was having a hard time keeping up.

Wedding Week

The week before Simon and Taylor’s wedding was a blur of preparations and people. We had the shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner and the actual wedding to plan, prepare and execute. We also had family coming into town and friends to see. Grandmother Long arrived first, then Dirk, Jake, Kristin and Simon. Grandma and Grandpa Lowe arrived a few days before. Aunt Kathy, Uncle Todd, Max and Olivia drove from Kansas. Uncle Drew, Aunt Shawnae, Jenner, Sarah Jane and Hayden drove from California. Of course Aunt Kristi, Uncle Brad, Aaron, Kyle and Cam were there and Aunt Ladonna, Uncle Mike, Clark and Gavin (the ring bearers). Lisa Sessions was the wedding planner and her sister did the flowers...They were both so great! And it meant that Emma was around helping out during the whole thing! The wedding party was just one big group of friends, which was so fun! It was Zoey and Dirk, Me and Jake, Kandra and Aaron, Kecia and Eric, Allison and Marc. It was so good to see family and friends!

During the beginning of the week, mom and I made the favors for the wedding shower. Little magnets with Simon and Taylor’s faces on them in cute little bags. The shower was a huge success (Great job Zoey!!). Everyone had a great time, everything looked great and thanks to Mrs. Dolhanyk everything tasted fantastic!! Anna Stager lead the group in a devotional and talked to Taylor about her new life. Zoey and I had some games planned and Taylor opened all her gifts. I can’t wait to go visit them and play with all their new kitchen toys!! Mom, Mrs. DeJong, Zoey, Allison, Kandra and Kecia made Taylor a scrapbook cookbook that would have words of wisdom, a recipe and a picture of each person who was at her shower and some who couldn’t make it. It is such a great idea! I gave her a waffle iron and my recipe was a really good waffle recipe :)



After the shower I hung out with Kaile for a bit and Kandra, Kecia and Allison for a bit until I had to go to the airport to get Dirk. It was so good to see him! We rented a car as the rental placed closed and headed for home. We talked all the way home and pretty much solved all the worlds problems :) I had missed my brothers so much while I was in NZ!

I packed the seeds into the little bags for the wedding favors when I was at home one day. It was quite overwhelming to have all this fun wedding stuff to do, people to see and talk to, culture shock to deal with and a huge project looming over my head that was due back in NZ. So pretty much I just tried to forget about reality and jump in to this wedding week. As a result, when I think back on this time, it feel more like a dream than real life. A beautiful, fun, busy, incredible dream.

The next event was the Bachelorette Party! This was a very fun girls night that I will spare you the details of. We all had a great time, ended up with pretty nails, random shopping, full tummies, weird waiter, lots of pictures, presents for Taylor, great view of Portland, a toxic jump into the Columbia River and a cute movie. At about 3am when the boys were done with their shenanigans they picked up a very sleepy Jena and we headed home. This was the first time I had seen Jake in a long time and Simon had just flown in that day too. It felt so right driving home late with my brothers to the mountain....like the good old days! When I got to my room Kristin was asleep in my bed!! What a welcome surprise!

The next morning our entire family and Grandmother were home from a great brunch Mom fixed. Then we all packed up our best clothes and shoes for the next few days and headed to town to the Hilton. The out of town wedding guests stayed at the Hilton as well. It is only few minutes away from the Marshall House where the wedding will be. We all got ready for the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal went well despite the rain. The dinner was in the Grant House just next door and it was a perfect location for the event. Everyone looked so beautiful and dashing! I sat at a table with Kandra, Emma and Lisa and we had a delightful dinner. It was such a happy time with friends and family!

The morning of Simon and Taylor’s wedding day all the girls in the wedding party got ready in a room in the Hilton. We had our hair done, put on our make-up and dresses just in time to go to the Marshall House for pictures. Taylor looked so incredibly gorgeous and happy in her dress that morning!!! Simon was so happy and so handsome!! Pictures were fun and they turned out really well.

After pictures is was time for all the girls to hide in the bridal room and time for all the guests to arrive. :) Everything went beautifully and smoothly. I cried when Mr. DeJong walked Taylor down the aisle and one big tear ran down his cheek as he stopped to give her away to my brother. Mr. Jackson prayed for them and Steve married them. God was so honored on that day and I’m sure he was so delighted in his children. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. Right after Steve blessed Simon and Taylor before he announced them husband and wife the sun shined...like God had smiled from heaven. It was perfect. They were radiant. I was so proud and so happy. The reception was a success too. There was great food, dancing, sunshine, toast that dared to make you cry, cupcakes, flowers, pictures, friends and family. Simon and Taylor left in a cute, little, old sports car and the party was over. They were hitched, God was glorified, the wedding was beautiful and we all had a great time. Perfect.



The next day I left to go back to New Zealand and reality. I got to go to church with my family, hang out and eat Mexican food with Dirk and our friends, tim tam slam with Grandmother, grab a few warm articles of clothing and head to the airport.

Wow what a week.

Road Trip!

The next day we got up early to pack up Simon’s flat and all of Taylor’s stuff into a slightly smoky U-haul. Mom, Dad and I helped them pack and listened to them squabble. One of them would ask if they should keep something, the other one would answer, then they would do the opposite. Haha. They are so awesome and goofy. After we got everything loaded up, Simon and Taylor said a very happy goodbye to Mississippi. I have a feeling they won’t miss it at all :) They were ready to go.


Simon and Dad rode in the U-Haul while Mom and I rode with Taylor. We drove across Mississippi all the way to Texas. They dropped mom and I off at a pretty...let’s say “simple”...hotel. We got to our room and ordered some pizza (I hadn’t had good American pizza in a long time) it was delicious. We watched a bit of Man vs Wild then went to sleep, we had an early morning coming. We got up at 5 something and made it down to breakfast before we left for the airport. They had a waffle maker at the continental breakfast that was in the shape of Texas! It was awesome! And incredibly delicious.
The flights today were interesting, because I was flying stand-by but Delta thought for some reason that I had graduated or turned 23 and was no longer a dependent, which changed my status from “awesome and free” to “bottom of the barrel and not free”. This was most unfortunate when trying to get home from TX.
Mom got on the first flight she tried for and I didn’t of course, but I had a few more options in... oh about 6 hours. After a few more full flights I made it on a plane headed to Salt Lake City. In the SLC Delta terminal there is only one place to eat....California Pizza Kitchen...and that is exactly where I intended to eat. It was really busy so I asked if I could sit next to this random girl. It ended up that she really liked to talk to strangers. She goes to University of Idaho, but she doesn’t know Justin or Macy, she was in Texas visiting a friend, her boyfriend called but she was eating so she asked him to call back, I heard all about him, she’s studying engineering. Then I never saw her again. I barely got on the last flight to Seattle...I called Anne a bunch to ask if she wanted to come to the airport, but she was in a meeting. Mom and Dad were heading north to come get me. When I landed Anne had called and said she would be at the airport. I hurried to find her...it was so good to see her. Like the kind of good that sunshine is through the rain. I am so blessed with Anne as a best friend!! We chatted and drove south to meet my parents, we stopped at a McDonalds for coffee and I said by to Anne. I would see her at the wedding in a few days. Dad drove most of the way home and we talked about all sorts of things. It was such a breath of fresh air to talk about things that really matter with someone that shares my same beliefs and convictions. That is something I have not had these past months.

We discussed my idea to get a geography degree along with my geology and environmental science stuff...It was so helpful to have someone so wise give their input on my situation. By about Ridgefield we had come to the conclusion that it would be best for my future in geology as well as relationships, grades and life for the next two years if I focused on by BS in geology and environmental science co major. I will take some of the geography classes that look mean (aka awesome) like a course on how to make maps and stuff!! I will take extra geology classes with my extra time, so I can be the best geologist I can and so I can be better prepared to postgrad.

At Washougal I started to drive, I’ve missed driving. I stayed on the correct side of the road for this country and remembered most of the corners on the way home. All the pot holes in the gravel had changed, so it was a challenge to make it a smooth ride. It was so surreal to be home on snag mountain! It felt like a beautiful dream sleeping in my own bed with my teddy bear after saying “good night, I love you.” to my parents...that’s the way it supposed to be. Although, it’s also supposed to be me in a cold room by myself, just me and my sleeping bag in Dunedin, NZ. God didn’t have to give me so many good things in my life, I don’t understand His lavish love for His children.

The Day Simon Got His Wings

We woke up early in the morning for the graduation breakfast and the ceremony! I was the proudest sister in the world watching my brother, one of my best friends, walk up in uniform to accept his United States Air Force Aviator wings. This is a achievement that a exceptionally small percentage of the population accomplish. He is one of the world’s best aviators!

It was quite the experience to see so many incredible young men and a woman. They are “the brave” that keep America “the land of the free”. Protecting our country and our freedom...flying the best aircraft on earth.

There were a bunch of speeches that I won’t dwell on too much, but they were somewhat educational and fairly patriotic, so not bad. After the ceremony each of the pilots had someone pin their newly acquired wings onto their uniforms. Simon asked Dad to pin his on.
We were all so proud!


. After that we headed out to find the A-10 guy from Simon’s Shreveport LA (???) unit who had flown in for Si’s graduation. This was my first time to see an A-10 Warthog! We walked out to the plane and got to walk around it and everything. A-10a are huge and they have teeth and a massive gun and two massive engines.




The “bottom dropped out” of the sky, as it does in the South without warning so we ran back to the car, then drove back to change into more comfy clothes for the afternoon activities. We went to the flight room where Simon had all his T-38 briefs. There were good speeches from the instructor pilots, snacks and the new pilots were presented with their orders from the USAF. Next, we went to this place where they have every flights patch since forever ago! It was so cool to see them all! Dad’s and Simon’s were both there. Dad designed his when he was in pilot training at the same base 25 years ago.
S

Then we had our turn in the T-3 Simulator!! There are so many buttons and knobs and Simon was explaining things and dad was telling me “just [fill in the blank with pilot jargon]”...like “just track the nose across the horizon” “Just follow that other plane” “just land there” ....yeah freaking right! It’s so hard to just maintain altitude, air speed and not mess anything up! I did get pretty good at aileron rolls “just push the stick all the way to the side”....that was fun! Dad got in after me and tried to pull out his muscle memory from ages ago...he did really well, but Si had to tell him where a few new switches and stuff were on the updated controls.



Next, we got some more southern BBQ because we were starving! Then we al wanted to nap, but we had to get our swag on and look fly for the formal dinner part of graduation. Simon wore his “dress mess” tux-like uniform for the occasion, dad wore a tie and sports coat and mom, taylor and I wore black dresses. We were looking CLASSY!


The food was really good, but it was definitely the fanciest meal I had been to...possibly ever. There were MORE speeches. Awards were given out for lots of things serious and otherwise. I was awarded with a bottle of champagne for being the person that came the farthest distance for the graduation ceremony. I gave it to Simon and Simon shared it with the whole table.
It was quite the evening and I was so exhausted, so happy and so proud.

Taylor and I then proceeded to watch a tv show on my computer and talk until early in the morning before we had to get up early for a road trip. We had a lot to catch up on and figure out life and the world. :) The best way to end a day when Simon is being recognized for accomplishing so much is to have his fiancé tell me how much she loves him and wants nothing more than to support him in this life they have chosen. Golden words for a sister to hear, pure gold. I could not have been happier.

A Very Long Thursday

Simon and Paul drove me to the Dunedin Airport at 5:45am. What great friends! It started to dawn on me how sad it will be when we are all leaving for good.

I flew from DUD -> CHC -> AKL -> LAX -> DFW -> MEM

The most remarkable thing about these flights is that I ACTUALLY HAD A TICKET!! This is the FIRST trip I have been on that I had actual tickets for my flights. I did a few stupid things that you wouldn’t expect from a well seasoned traveler (smug, yes I know)....I’m no good at not having to work the system. Lol I went to the ticket counter and asked about checking in for my flight in LAX and they were like “hun, you already have a ticket.” Right, ....uh I forgot.

It was a long day...many, many hours longer than a day should ever be.
I worked on my basins project a bit and watched Dear John (pretty good chick-flick). I ate the cookies and brownies I had made the night before. Simon (brother simon not friend simon) got me a window seat ticket!! (small note to praise simon: SIMON IS AWESOME!) And there was a seat empty in the middle. The lady on the aisle seat was going to Utah to watch her son play in a national rugby competition! Quantas Air Lines feeds their customers well, I had a plethora of snacks and meals...then right when you think it’s over they offer you Cadbury hot chocolate. :) Yes Please.

When I went through customs and was back on US soil I felt more at home! I always smile so much when the re-entry/immigration officer says “Welcome Home or Back”. Good to be in the United States of America. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave...speaking of the brave, I have to get to an Air Force Graduation!! :)

After hanging out in airports and planes of all shapes and sizes ALL day...I was so happy to be “walking in Memphis....”. As I walked through security I could not believe my eyes!!! Standing before me was ELVIS!!!!!!!!!!!.....oh wait, nope. That’s dad.

It was so incredibly heart warming, soul healing, overwhelming to see and hug mom and dad and Taylor in the airport. They probably thought I didn’t look too excited because the fatigue was masking my emotions. I was explosively happy on the inside.

We drove to a good old southern BBQ joint for a chicken sandwich and a coke. Well done America! I like your food.

We got back to Simon’s flat pretty late, but I got to give him a hug and drive with him to the base where mom, dad, taylor and I would be staying in the Magnolia Inn. I shared a room with Taylor!

A Random Day in the Life of Jena

Today was jus a random, normal day for me in Dunedin. I went to statistics class. I went in to talk to my GEOL 263/Basins professor about this Seismic project. This project was very poorly explained and organized in my opinion, but that could just be me. I needed to finish this project today because I was leaving for the States tomorrow (very bad planning/time management). I asked a few questions and got a little tiny bit more clarity. He said that I shouldn’t stress over this and he wants me to actually learn it...so I should take my time and just turn it in before the semester is over. This was great news... except for the fact that with little pressure, I get little done.

So I hung out with Jen. :) We went to find ballet shoes at this awkward shop in Dunedin called The Doll House. This store sells dolls and dance apparel and shoes. I bought a pair of NZ ballet flats. The lady who owns and works at this quaint and quirky doll shop wanted to chat with us. We know a lot of random things about this dear lady, including that she worked and was friends with Sir Edmond Hillary. We are talking THE Sir Edmond Hillary, New Zealand’s finest, Everest Summiter. Wow. The degrees of separation between me and everyone worth anything in the world just decreased!

I spent a lot of money today :/ that is not my favorite thing to do. I got a little something for Kaile and Anne. I ordered a shirt and hoodie with the design I helped make for the 252 class and another random geology department shirt. I’m pretty stoked about these!

I worked on my project a bit, then I made cookies and brownies at Paul’s flat with Simon and Sophie. It was heaps of fun, heaps of sugar and I still had heaps of things to pack. :) I took some goodies for the plane and went home to pack.

I slept for a few restless hours then Simon picked me up to go to the airport

MOST WORTHLESS FIELD TRIP EVER and My Last field trip at Otago

On Tuesday I went on the most worthless fieldtrip I have ever attended. I can’t say that it was completely worthless for everyone, but combined with my attitude and the fact that it wasn’t worth any marks...I didn’t learn anything. I saw some really unique rocks. I should have not gone and worked on all the stuff that is actually important to my grade. Perhaps there will be a essay question on the final exam about this field trip. :/








When I got back I made an awesome bake from all the food I had... without a recipe. I felt like a mom just throwing stuff together....but of course I didn’t really know what I was doing. It turned out to be mix of chicken pot pie, shepherds pie and mac and cheese. It was delicious. Cooked chicken, 2 cups pasta, 1 cup cheese, milk, flour, cream cheese, frozen veggies, mashed potatoes and heaps of cheese on top. :) Yummy As!

Doubtful Sound Cruise!

Friday evening half of the Butler IFSA crew headed west to go on a cruise of Doubtful Sound. We hopped aboard a bus and drove to Te Anau to stay at a backpackers for the night. There was a great group of people on the trip. It was really great to get away for the weekend, but not have to worry about planning or paying for anything! (It was paid for with our program fee before the beginning of the semester....so it felt free). I got up and had breakfast at the Fiordland Bakery, my favorite bakery in NZ....a muffin and coffee always hit the spot. Then a few of us went to watch the ducks on lake Te Anau before we headed out. We all got back on the bus and went to a bird sanctuary...it was neat to see a few different birds I hadn’t seen yet and learn a little about them. The Kea and the bright parakeets were my favorites. New Zealand has the second largest pigeon. Next we had sandwiches and “slices” aka brownie type desserts of different flavors. We also had a rock skipping contest! I lost.




Next, this adventure actually headed towards Doubtful Sound. We rode our bus to a boat on lake Manapouri that took us across to another bus that took us to the sound and to the Navigator. The Navigator is a cruise/sail/awesome boat that we stayed the night in the fiord on! On the bus from Manapouri to Doubtful Sound I was sitting in the very front of the bus. The views were fantastic and so were the waterfalls. The driver was talkative and was asking our group and the other people on that bus questions about random stuff....like what would be the main pollinator in this area if the flowers were mostly white and large and the were pollinated at night....Moths of course. Well I answered a few of the questions and then he fed me the rest of the answers...it was funny. Then all my friends said it must be because I was homeschooled....probably right. We stopped on a bridge to take pictures in front of a waterfall and there was a little bit of ballet going on. :)
It was definitely weird to be on a “tour” like thing that was SO touristy and proud of it. It felt less than hard core, but very relaxing.

The boat that was to be our home for these two days was awesome! It had 4 decks. Our group was in the bunk rooms in the very lowest deck of the boat. The rooms with four bunks were tiny!
but they had a little window and the beds were really comfortable. They fed us extravagantly on the boat and there was always coffee, milo and tea available. The first thing we did was motor out a more central part of the fiord. Doubtful Sound is a large fiord with islands within it and unique groups of animals that call it home. We stood out on the many observation decks and just tried to soak in all the steep mountains that plunged straight down into the depths of the fiord.
As we were driving we were joined by the pod of bottle nose dolphins that live in Doubtful Sound. They were awesome and a few came close to the boat and showed off their tricks.

Next we kayaked! In a very orderly and safe fashion (boo) we explored the circumference of a small island. We paddled around and a few people got wet. We saw heaps of birds and sandflies. It was great to actually be on the water exploring and observing the fiord on my own. Being close to the water in a kayak is a much more intimate way to see an area than up on a huge boat with a hot drink in hand. After Kayaking a bunch of crazy people jumped in the fiord...which was really cold! I just took pictures of them and stayed relatively dry.


The captain then headed out to the mouth of the fiord where it meets the Tasman Sea. Right at the mouth there are a few rocky islands where a colony of fur seals live. They were cute....and apparently they are soft and cuddly because they were almost hunted to extinction long ago. We floated past the seals and out into the sea to watch the sunset and feel the waves. The sunset was outstanding and it was a little bit of a rush to feel some waves. The fiord was a little too calm for my taste that day.


As I was watching the sun set over the Tasman Sea I couldn’t help but sing a song that my dad wrote a long time ago...

Hunger you feel when we're apart… You need a friend.
Loneliness buried inside your heart… I'll take your hand

Would you give me your love if I gave you the world,
And you always had your way?
If I painted the sky with a color you feel
To finish every day
If I heard every word you've
If I cried when your heart was broken
If I never failed If I bore the nails
Would you even remember my name?

I have been waiting for you to see… since time began
All the rejection, I will forgive My love won't end

Wine in the cup, My blood my life, poured out for you
Bread is my body, broken and torn, eat and be new

We had a fantastic dinner with all kinds of salads, pastas, meats and desserts....this is where I had my first pavlova! Delicious. We parked the Navigator and dropped the anchor in one of the arms of the fiord. After a shower I went up to the top deck to look at the stars. They were incredible! I could barely make out the dark mountains surrounding me, I had to look straight up to see the Milky Way and the Southern Cross.

I went to sleep in the little tiny bunk to the gentle movement of the boat on the water....so gentle in fact that I didn’t feel it at all. I could have been on solid ground. Haha. In the morning we had to be up early so the crew could re-make the bunks, the capitan could head back to the dock and we could see a sunrise of sorts....a morning in the fiords. The reflections on the water were spectacular. At one point we stopped and we were told that we were going to have 5 minutes of complete silence, no walking on deck or talking or taking pictures. The capitan stopped the Navigator’s motors and we just tried to soak it in.
It was so great to be able to see how still the water is, how gently the birds glide, and how it’s hard to decipher which is the reflection in the water and which is the real mountain. I was over come with beauty....I could have stood there in silence for a very long time. All I could think of was songs that gave the glory of all this majestic massive beauty to God.



On the way back to the dock the capitan unfurled the sails and we “sailed” against the wind for a while. It was quite windy and at one point I was goofying off and the wind blew me over (not overboard, just on the deck ;) ).

I was really sad to leave the Navigator, it had been a swell experience. We disembarked from the Navigator, loaded the bus, got on the other boat, then back on our bus. Somewhere in that crazy transportation situation a sandfly bit my lip. Actually I think I got bit twice. My lip started swelling. Then it kept swelling until it was very big and noticeable. I tried to use some ice to help the swelling, but I still had to endure the glances and comments of my fellow travelers. Haha it was funny. You can’t take yourself too serious when your lip is huge and it feels even huge-er. :D

We headed back to Te Anau for dinner and a movie. I went to a pie place and got my first meat pie. Steak and cheese. IT WAS SO GOOD. I have heard that this is the best pie place in NZ. With my one pie experience I would agree. Then all the Butler kids and our leader Guy went to watch a movie/documentary on Fiordland. It didn’t have words, just music and unbelievable footage of Fiordland. Waterfalls, helicopters, snow on the fiords, glaciers, birds and plants.....I fell asleep for some of it, it was just so relaxing. :)

During the bus ride back to Dunedin I slept and watched Sherlock Holms. It was good, but sad to be back in Dunedin and real life. I unloaded my stuff in my room and had a few minutes to get ready before going to Mass with Matt and Mike to listen to Desiree play the viola. This was the first Catholic Mass I had ever been to. It was interesting, but I didn’t understand all the reasons we were standing/sitting/saying things/repeating things. I knew one of the hymns we sung though!

It was interesting because I felt like I had been at “church” all weekend in the fiords...but when I went to mass it felt like there was all the sudden a very formal, impenetrable, “religious” wall between people and God. I don't think God put up that wall... nope, I think Jesus came to tear down a wall like that so we could each personally have a relationship with God. I'm so glad he did!